Why would anyone choose to follow a God who promises more hardship, not less? Exposing the myth of a prosperity
gospel.

In my visits to churches overseas, one difference from
North American Christians stands out sharply: their view of hardship and suffering. We who live in an age of unprecedented
comfort seem obsessed with the problem of pain. Skeptics mention it as a major roadblock to faith, and believers struggle
to come to terms with it. Prayer meetings in the U.S. often focus on illnesses and requests for healing. Not so elsewhere.

I asked a man who visits unregistered house churches
in China whether Christians there pray for a change in harsh government policies. After thinking for a moment, he replied
that not once had he heard a Chinese Christian pray for relief.

Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who has promised is faithful. And let us
consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but
encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching. heb. 10.23-25

The end-of-year readings for the gospel of Mark rely
heavily on end of days themes. Eschatological, or "final judgment," texts were always popular during times of severe persecution
and oppression, in both Jewish and Christian circles. They provided hope for those experiencing persecution and reminded believers
that suffering and evil, while mysteries, were not meaningless.

The community was encouraged to remain faithful despite
adversity, for God too shall remain faithful... The Christian community was truly expecting Jesus' second coming, and thus
the end of the world. The writer of Hebrews reminds them to observe the laws of God as revealed in Christ, now and "all the
more as you see the Day approaching."

When have you experienced personal “apocalypse”
prior to knowing Christ? How did you deal with the “throwing open (or laying bare)“ of your crisis? Are there
good calamites that you have experienced that lead to sacrificial closeness to God— embracing the “Way”
of Jesus? How can you encourage others as “the Day approaches?”

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